Estates General of 1789

The Estates General of 1789 was a gathering of the French Estates-General that was held at the Hotel des Menus-Plaisirs in Versailles, France in 1789. King Louis XVI of France enacted the meeting to discuss the economic crisis of France, caused by the nation's intervention in the American Revolutionary War and the Little Ice Age's destruction of crops in the French countryside. From May to June, the Estates-General convened numerous times, but failed to reach a consensus during each gathering. On 17 June 1789, a revolutionary National Assembly was formed by the Third Estate to counteract the problem. King Louis attempted to limit their actions and closed the Salle des Etats meeting room, but the National Assembly instead took their oath on an indoor tennis court in the "Tennis Court Oath". Their actions received support from the French cities and by 27 June, King Louis had the military arrive in Paris and Versailles. The Estates General of 1789 was the first in a chain of events leading to the French Revolution.